Loop and Hitches by Randy Penn

If you want to secure rope around an object, the Loop and Hitches method will make it easy. The following begins with a Bowline, but you can use another fixed loop (for instance, an Overhand Loop) instead.

1 After tying the Bowline in one end, pass the other end around the bundle (or another object) and through the loop.

2 Pull away from the looped end to tighten the rope around the bundle, and finish with a couple of Half Hitches.

When the end is pulled back to tighten, the tension in the rope is double what you are pulling. For additional force, make a “loop in the bight” of the main loop, and pass the running end through it, as in a Trucker's Hitch. A second Trucker's Hitch made with the running end will magnify the pull even more.